TRENTON — Former city Mayor Tony Mack pulled away from the courthouse in a Jaguar.

But soon that luxury will be stripped from Mack as a jail cell awaits him.

Mack was sentenced Thursday to 58 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to accept $119,000 in bribes for the development of parking garage on city-owned land in exchange for his influence. Elected in 2010, Mack was convicted by a jury on Feb. 7 on six counts of bribery, extortion, mail and wire fraud.

He held onto power for 19 days — doing such notable things as shutting down the city as a felon and awkwardly standing in the back of a council meeting — before being removed from office by a judge.

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His brother Ralphiel Mack, who was a buffer and bagman in the scheme, was also sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison. Ralphiel, a former Trenton Central High School head football coach and guidance counselor, was found guilty on three counts of corruption.

Before he was sentenced, Tony Mack declined to address the courtroom, which was packed with 50 onlookers, including the press, city activists, Ralphiel Mack’s family members and several supporters of the former mayor.

When asked by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp if he wished to speak, Tony Mack shook his head and said, “No, your honor.”

After the justice was handed down, Tony Mack’s attorney Mark Davis said his client chose not to speak to protect the record because he is planning to appeal the conviction.

Tony Mack relocated to Smithfield, N.C. shortly before the month-long trial began in January.

Davis said the former mayor commuted back and forth to court on the weekends to be with his family.

Tony Mack will likely report to federal prison in a couple of months near Smithfield, Davis said.

After a short break, Ralphiel Mack was next to face the music.

“His role is financially small and factually nonexistent,” Ralphiel Mack’s attorney Robert Haney argued. “There’s not one statement that says, ‘Hey, I’m going to pick up a bribe for Tony.’”

Ralphiel Mack was the only co-defendent to be found with $2,500 in marked bills during a raid by the feds.

Haney unsuccessfully argued that it was a loan from co-conspirator Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, who took a plea deal in December.

The defense’s only witness during the trial was Terry Birchenough, a personal friend of Ralphiel Mack, who testified that the mayor’s brother asked him to borrow money to pay his mortgage in the summer of 2012.

Unlike his brother, Ralphiel Mack did address the courtroom.

The mayor’s brother explained he took care of the needs of other kids and families before his own.

“We made sure we gave back to the community,” he said. “I would never want to take from the city, ever.”

After being charged in September 2012, Ralphiel Mack said he was embarrassed and upset that he could have been a better father and fiancee, who were both in the front row of the courtroom crying at times.

“If you can’t take care of your home first, then there’s no need to helping out,” he said. “I would have never had to borrow no money from someone like JoJo. For that, I apologize and I’m truly sorry.”

Haney asked the judge a penalty of community service and home confinement.

But after the sentence guideline was set between 41 to 51 months, Ralphiel Mack — with his brother looking on from the front row — received a lighter sentence of 30 months.

Shipped wished both Macks the best of luck.

In addition to Tony Mack’s prison sentence, the former mayor received three years of probation, 100 hours of community service and a fine of $3,000. His brother also received three years of probation with a fine of $1,500.

Cohorts in the corruption scheme, Giorgianni and former city recreation employee Charles Hall III, are next up to face sentencing in July after accepting plea deals. The conspirators used code words, such as “Uncle Remus” and Tony Mack’s term “pizza” to let each other know when the bribe payments were received.

“Four years ago when Tony Mack was elected mayor of Trenton, he embarked on a system of selling his office in which the citizens of Trenton entrusted him with,” U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said outside the federal courthouse. “Today, that sad chapter in the city’s history hopefully has come to an end.”

“What Tony Mack did not only sold out the citizens of Trenton, but it put a stain on public officials,” Fishman added, noting he was pleased with the sentence.

Tony Mack will be barred from serving in public office forever and had his pension that he earned while being mayor stripped from him.

Once thought of as a local boy done good, Tony Mack will infamously be known for running the worst and most corrupt administrations in city history.

About the Author

Originally from Webster, N.Y., David has been a reporter in N.J. for the past three years (first in Phillipsburg and now in Trenton).He is a Temple alum who interned at the Philadelphia Daily News. Reach the author at dfoster@trentonian.com
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